Námestovo, Žilina Region, Slovakia

🇸🇰 Námestovo (Námesztó; Namiestów) is a town in northern Slovakia. It is the capital and largest town of Námestovo District in the Žilina Region.

Etymology The name is derived from a word námesta (a representative, a deputy; like modern Slovak námestník or Czech náměstek) referring to a representative of Vlach settlers whose seat was in Námestovo. Alternatively, it could be derived from a personal name Namest (a less probable theory).

Geography The town is located under the Orava Highlands at the shores of the Orava reservoir, not far from the Polish border, around 15 km (9.32 mi) from Tvrdošín and 30 km (18.64 mi) from Dolný Kubín.

History The town was mentioned in the 16th century, when the massive colonisation of Orava took place. It was growing quickly, thanks to its favourable location on the trade route to Poland. Until 1918, the district was part of Árva County, an administrative division of the Kingdom of Hungary. The town was burned down at the end of World War II. The construction of the Orava reservoir affected the way of life in the town, as two-thirds of the town were inundated, including the town centre. Boom of the industry and the following apartment construction in the 1970s contributed to the growth of the town.

Demographics 98.65% of inhabitants were Slovaks and 0.65% Czechs. The religious makeup was 92.12% Roman Catholics, 4.95% people with no religious affiliation and 0.84% Lutherans.